Villagers have won their fight to stop a convenience store being built near their homes after raising fears about road safety and anti-social behaviour.

More than 200 people had signed a petition opposing the plans to open a Co-op on the site of the former Audley Workingmen’s Club in Bignall End.

Developers maintained the New Road store would have led to 20 jobs being created.

But Newcastle Borough Council’s planning committee threw out the proposals this week after hearing how delivery lorries would need to use a service area close to people’s homes. A thin strip of landscaping would be all that separated residents from the development.

Brampton Homes had originally won planning permission last year for 12 new houses on the old club car park. Yet under the revised scheme, only six of these homes would have been built in order to make room for the Co-op.

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Local borough councillor Ann Beech, who also sits on Audley Parish Council, told the committee: “You are effectively being asked to remove half of the much-needed properties and to replace them with a ridiculous, inappropriate retail store.”

She highlighted how Bignall End was already well-served by shops, with five nearby stores selling alcohol, another Co-op and a Tesco within half-a-mile of the site, and a Londis store just 400 metres away.

“One thing the Audley area doesn’t need is another store selling alcohol,” she added.

Police have already had to tackle anti-social behaviour problems locally.

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Jack Bates is one of many residents to have fought the plans. The 23-year-old, from Bignall End, said: “I’m absolutely over the moon it’s been turned down.”

He claimed access to the site would have been dangerous, with a narrow junction onto a busy road and lorries only having limited space to turn round.

The site is also close to Ravensmead Primary School and a children’s nursery.

During the meeting, councillor Simon Tagg told fellow members of the committee: “I am not happy about the traffic movements. We’ve got to think very, very carefully about that. It could be dangerous for pedestrians.”

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The 4,500 sq ft store would have included space 18 parking bays. It was estimated that customers would have made more than 150 trips to the site each weekday, although many of these drivers would have been travelling in the area anyway.

Jez Willard, speaking on behalf of the applicants, said the access arrangements were acceptable to highways officials. And he reassured that anyone trying to buy alcohol would be asked for ID if they looked to be under 25.

“The new store itself would bring about £700,000 worth of initial development and investment and 20 new jobs,” he added.

But the committee unanimously opposed the scheme, despite planning officers recommending it for approval.